ants

By Chris Williams on May 7, 2018

It could be true. Carpenter ants can do some serious damage to wood in your home but we can’t yet say for sure if that is what is happening in your case. First, you need to make sure the ants are really carpenter ants (we can identify them for you). Second, you need to determine

By Chris Williams on October 4, 2017

It’s that time of year when cool nights get us thinking that it’s time to bring in the houseplants that have enjoyed a summer outside. If you don’t carefully check the plants before moving them inside, you could be bringing in pests as well. Houseplant Hitchhikers Fall into Three Groups (1) Plant-sucking pests – These

By Chris Williams on July 26, 2017

We have a terrible problem with tiny ants, lots of them, so I’m pretty sure they must be nesting in our house somewhere. We keep watching them to see if they disappear into a hole somewhere but we can’t figure anything out. Are we missing something? Y. M., Westwood, MA You may not be missing

By Chris Williams on June 16, 2017

When carpenter ants are found inside a home, they can be just visitors that are foraging for food which they are taking back to an outdoor nest, or they can be residents living in your home and chewing on your wood. How can you tell what’s what? That’s where you need a pest control professional.

By Chris Williams on May 12, 2017

How can I tell if these ants that have suddenly appeared in our house are carpenter ants. They’re dark and they seem pretty big, so I’m worried. L.P., Westminster, MA It’s going to be very difficult to reassure you without actually seeing the ants. Carpenter ants are the largest ants that get into structures but

By Chris Williams on May 5, 2017

Help! We are being overrun with ants. Little tiny dark ants that are crawling all over the kitchen counters and along the baseboards. I’ve tried spraying the areas where I see them but by the next day they’re back. We’ve never had an ant problem before. P. W., West Roxbury, MA Ants are fickle seasonal

By Chris Williams on April 14, 2017

We always assumed that ant adults were responsible for the care of the colony and that the helpless baby ants depended on adults to feed and protect them. Research has suggested that, instead, baby ants may be the ones responsible for the success of the colony. BABY ANTS ARE NOT ADORABLE AT ALL! For the

By Chris Williams on April 12, 2017

Carpenter ant nests vary greatly in size, location, and structure. Many factors determine what a nest will look like. Moisture conditions and rotten wood differ from a nest in a dry location. Carpenter ants will take advantage of rotten wood, and easy places to start the nest, but as the nest grows, the larvae who

By Chris Williams on March 17, 2017

Because winter just won’t go away, I was moving some firewood into the house in case of a power loss. We really haven’t used much firewood this winter since we got a new furnace so I was surprised to find that my firewood pile seems to have been overtaken by big black ants. Some of